


Love comes in many forms

by dev_chieftain



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-09
Updated: 2011-09-09
Packaged: 2017-10-23 14:31:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dev_chieftain/pseuds/dev_chieftain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles about Kotetsu and Tomoe's relationship (non-chronological, not all in the same tense).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love comes in many forms

**Author's Note:**

> This set of drabbles is done using a themeset from the LJ community 1sentence!

  


_TOMOE_  


**#01 - Comfort**

When the dust had cleared, his mouth was sour with blood. Kotetsu couldn't see but he knew which direction home was in. He crawled for it, picking himself up, leaning into the shadow of the general store and trying to tell himself everything was going to be all right: that he would make it to school tomorrow, and that Muramasa wouldn't give him that tired, worried look, and that mother wouldn't scold him quietly about the fighting.

He had not known that she was waiting there, frightened and holding her breath, paralyzed with fear for him. He had not heard her footsteps on the asphalt approaching him, not known anyone was near him until a hand touched his shoulder and he flinched away, turning towards the source of that sensation blindly, one eye swollen shut, the other still too bloody to see out of.

She said, "Kotetsu," not for the first time, and helped him stand, wincing when he winced, yelping when he yelped. She pressed a cool wet cloth to his battered face, wiping away some of the grime.

When she reached his lips, she daubed away the blood pooling there, pulled them back, and winced for him.

"Your teeth are going to be crooked," she sighed, and he started to laugh, pulling her into his arms.

**#02 - Kiss**

Sometimes, being a Hero meant arriving home very late. Kotetsu would sneak in, with a creak of the floorboards and a rustle of his coat, slipping off his domino mask and shoes, then the jacket, then his waistcoat, then his tie.

Creeping slowly, he would ascend the stairs to the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt, unclipping his call-band and unbuckling his watch.

Slipping out of his pants, he would crawl into bed beside her, cautiously, favoring his injuries and trying not to shake her, wake her. Every time, he would slip and tumble, or bark his shins or end up twisting something already sore, and fail.

Slowly, Tomoe would turn over, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement, and pull him to her, stroking his hair behind his ears, even as her other hand found its way down the line of his back to grip his buttocks possessively.

"We'll talk in the morning," she would whisper, in a breathy, sleepy voice, and pull him close for a simple kiss. His cheek, or his chin, or his forehead, or his nose. Rarely his lips. But weariness would creep out from that focal point and ensnare him as she whispered, "so, goodnight."

**#03 - Soft**

Tomoe runs her hands up the inside of Kotetsu's thighs, thumbs trailing, and her hair falls wild and dark over her shoulders, her smile a knife of promise in the shadows of the bedroom. His breath comes faster, curling into a lingering moan when her tongue marks a line up the length of his erection.

If he could, he would sink his fingers into her hair, and pull her up and kiss her.

If he could, he would tease her nipples with his tongue, and worship and revere her.

That is why his hands are bound above his head and he is whining, toes curling while she envelops him in the heat and softness of her mouth. She is velvet, except when she is teeth, and her fingers press into his legs, forcing his knees wider. Off-balance, at her mercy, some delight or terror spikes in his gut at the realization that he has no choice but to lie back and let her make him feel.

**#04 - Pain**

"How are you f-feeling?" he asks, wringing his hat in his hands and trying to hold it together, she knows, for her sake. Kotetsu is terrible at it, his eyes already red from crying and still wet with unshed tears, his lips in a thin, trembling line.

She feels awful, when she can feel at all. So she tells him, "Well, the doctors said 'Tomoe, you can have some opium, or you can be in pain. Or, if you really want, we have some yummy pudding in our cafeteria!'"

Grinning, she leans in, sketching an outline of the cafeteria with her hands while Kotetsu's expression slips into one half-heartbroken, half-confused.

"So I said 'oo, pudding? I _love_ pudding! What flavor is it, what kind?' and the doctors said 'Oh, we only have butterscotch, you see, pistachio got all eaten up yesterday by this immense man staying down in the psych ward.' Well! I wasn't going to take _that_ lying down-- I was furious! Pistachio's my favorite! So I got right up and marched on down to the cafeteria and told the ladies cooking the food, 'Lady!'"

Kotetsu starts to laugh helplessly.

"'You'd better get down to the store right now and get me some pistachio pudding! And you're going to make it and serve it only to me, not that greedy guy from yesterday.' And the doctors got very flustered and apologized because of course, it's their fault there wasn't any pistachio pudding left in the first place. I told them it was okay, but," and she takes one of Kotetsu's hands in both of her own, bringing his knuckles up to her lips and kissing them while he laughs, tears seeping from his eyes, his smile more of a grimace than a grin. "They were just inconsolable, you see, so I took the opium, too. I feel fine. How are you?" She smiles at him. "How is Kaede?"

**#05 - Potatoes**

They actually met when Tomoe was thirteen and Kotetsu was twelve, in a foodfight in the cafeteria. A foodfight which he started.

A foodfight which she, and her associates, won.

She remembers, as she's frying up hamburgers and letting him handle the frozen french fries, chuckling to herself. "It was potato salad, wasn't it?"

The look Kotetsu angles up at her from where he's crouched by the oven, setting the temperature, is one of baffled bemusement. "Potato salad?"

"I'm pretty sure it was," she agrees, flipping the burgers and closing her grill over them again. "It started with the eggs, but Madeline, Lucia and I all threw our potato salad at Mister Hall and got detention for it. Totally worth the look on his face."

Shaking his head, Kotetsu rises and dusts off his hands with a grin. "That's why we elected you Class Rep, you know. We thought we were getting the wild child; imagine our disappointment!"

"Hey, _this_ Class Rep got double-lunch Fridays on the school calendar. That's way better than wild-child stuff." She thwacks his apron-shielded chest with her spatula, leaving a greasy, ashy mark of battle. He makes a moue of falling back at the force of her blow, all smiles.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And- I guess we owe it to the potato salad, huh?"

"Yup."

"Hm." His nose wrinkles, right about the same time hers does. "No offense, Toro, but potato salad is gross."

Snickering, she winks at him. "Oh, I quite agree."

**#06 - Rain**

Under a eucalyptus tree in the arboretum, he shields her from the worst of the downpour, using the excuse to steal a kiss. When they break apart, he's flushed and looks a little confused but very hopeful, and whispers to her, "I have some good news."

"Top Mag accepted you?" she breathes excitedly, and he falters, looking surprised, then put out. "They did! Ohh, I'm so happy for you, Kotetsu!"

He grumbles to himself, not-quite-whining. "Man, you just guessed it like that! I wanted to surprise you."

Tomoe pinches his cheek. "Aw, but it's still wonderful news, isn't it?"

Rainsoaked as he is, with his hair plastered down over his face, he looks more like a bedraggled puppy than he's any right to do. He pouts a little, lower lip jutting out until he relents with a smile. "Okay, yeah, aside from freezing to death out here I'm pretty excited!"

**#07 - Chocolate**

She ladles it out over the smooth expanse of his body mercilessly, starting with his chest, where she drizzles it thick over his nipples, watching his muscles twitch in response, his hands twisting in the cuffs she's used to bind them above his head, his legs jerking against the matching set that keeps him pinned to the bed. At his stomach, she pauses, dripping the chocolate over his belly, letting it run down into the patchy trail of hair that starts beneath his navel and blossoms just above his penis.

"I'm going to lick you clean," Tomoe promises, as she lifts the last spoonful of chocolate from her pan, not quite as hot as before but still warm and liquid, and drizzles it over the length of his penis, watching his expression melt from anticipatory fear into shock and pleasure. He moans and writhes and generally can't help acting as sexy as he does, and she drinks it in, licking her lips before she sets the pan aside on their bedside table, and leans in to start at his nipples, sucking them with delight.

The slight salt of sweat and the sweet chocolate mix perfectly on her tongue. She takes her time, wringing as many wanton moans and hungry pleas from him as she can and enjoying every moment.

**#08 - Happiness**

"Yes!" she whispers, surprised that she's so- surprised!- and starts laughing uncontrollably, hugging him so tightly he squeaks out an 'oof!' of protest. "Yes!" she says again, giggling, giddy. "Yes, of course I'll marry you! Yes!"

And then he's lost in it too, and they swing around, holding each other, laughing delightedly at their silliness, at how long they've been waiting for this moment.

Behind them, Antonio says wryly, "Really, is the mall pretzel store the best place to be doing something like that?"

Tomoe kicks at him futilely, too far to actually reach his shins. "Shut up!"

Kotetsu grins unrepentantly. "Yeah, Antonio, shut up!"

**#09 - Telephone**

"Kotetsu?" he ducks his head, putting a finger in his ear so he can hear her over the clamor of local traffic. "I need you to come home right now."

"Now?" He glances back up and over at the scene Agnes has been staging. Honestly, this whole week has been just miserable at work, trying to get used to this new director and her kind of volatile temper. Not to mention the number of times she's made a pass at him at work, and--

"Doctor Raya just called," Tomoe sounds small, and quiet, yet suddenly she's the only thing he can hear in the world. Her tinny voice wavers. "She says it's probably leukemia."

**#10 - Ears**

Their first date was maybe a little grabby, but Kotetsu didn't mind very much, and he doubted Tomoe had either. The tradeoff had been simple. Image of propriety? Lost.

Ability to make each other blush all the way up till they were red in the ears? Gained.

**#11 - Name**

His pacing is making her dizzy.

"Kotetsu." Fortunately, despite the hazy cotton feeling of sterile artificial calm that comes of staying in the hospital, Tomoe is still with-it enough to take charge. "I want to pick a name."

"What, now?" Surprise etched on his face, he finally comes to her side and sits down, gawping. "But you're not due for like, another month!"

Wryly, she reaches out to ruffle his hair and he bows his head to let her, answering her smile with his own. "Setting the possibility that I might deliver early aside, _you_ might be away on Hero business when I actually have the baby. Oh, I could just name it myself..." she winks. "That wouldn't be very fair, though, would it?"

To her surprise, he nods, instead of agreeing with her. "You're the one doing all the work, here!" he adds hastily, throwing up his hands in defense. "If I get my way, I'll be there! But if I don't, well." Sheepish, he ducks his head. "I think any name you pick would be perfect, Toro."

"Biff."

He winces. "You're not serious."

"But what if I _was_?" She answers reasonably. "You're not weaseling out of this, mister. Let's talk."

**#12 - Sensual**

Dragging lips over sun-darkened skin, she lingers at the inside of his wrist, at his elbow, shoulder, stopping at his jugular and claiming it for herself with the warm touch of her tongue. In their bedroom, she is the hero, and he is only an ordinary man, with ordinary fears and doubts, desperately in need of being rescued.

Breaking her lips away from his skin, Tomoe traces one fingernail down the path of his chest, holding his gaze with hers, leaning up and in to take his mouth as well. He yields without protest, making a noise that sounds desirous and grateful.

Deep in their kiss, she feels his arms settling around her, his hands on her waist, timid but warm.

**#13 - Death**

Kaede clings to his hand while he crouches low to let her read the tombstone, asking soft, frightened questions. She is very brave, and only cries when she sees him crying. Muramasa has to take her away from him. Then he's left just staring at the tombstone alone, incapable of standing or walking or talking or breathing or being.

It doesn't feel like the world is real anymore.

It doesn't feel like he's the one still alive.

**#14 - Sex**

When they finally did it, it was Tomoe dragging Kotetsu down onto the bed. Every time he'd try to protest she tickled him until he was so breathless and tired with laughter, he gave up. She sat on his stomach, in just her white cotton panties, and he was mesmerized by how beautiful she was, while she stared a little down at him, flushed but smiling.

"Are you sure?" he asked, because he was still afraid, and she poked his nose.

"Of course I'm sure. I even started taking birth control for this months ago. _Antonio_ has sex, and he's not even actively dating anyone right now." Growling, she tore off his briefs, and her panties, and he gulped, staring at her vagina with open curiosity and no small amount of lust. "We deserve to have a little ourselves, I think," Tomoe said, a little more in control of her emotions. She noticed where his eyes were, and asked shyly, "Do you like it?"

He nodded, self-consciously covering up his own shame until she pried his hands aside.

"Do you want to try anything in particular for the first time?" And only then, as Tomoe adjusted her glasses and looked decidedly out of her element did Kotetsu realize they were in the same boat. He'd half thought she just knew what to do from reading anatomy manuals or something.

So he relaxed, even though he was also blushing pretty hard and felt warm and tingly and maybe dizzy. "Um. Can I...lick your--?"

"Oh!" Her expression of shock was gratifying, but not quite as much as the alacrity with which she shifted their positions, letting him see her vagina clearly while she kissed the head of his erect penis. He'd seen pictures, he wasn't some idiot innocent, but he'd never seen a girl naked before and he was still getting used to it. Tomoe's pubic hair was soft, and though it was thick it didn't grow very long or anywhere that seemed strange. Down here, she smelled like sex, and he realized belatedly that the shine on the lips of her labia was moisture-- arousal.

Intoxicated with the idea of potentially granting her the kind of pleasure she was currently granting him, sucking him into her mouth like that, he lifted his chin and plunged his tongue into her.

**#15 - Touch**

Her favorite moments are in the dead of night, when the stars are close and the air is cool, when the smell of the ocean wafts up over the city and transforms it from a barren watchpost on the edge of the coastline into a beautiful island on a mysterious sea. She stands out on the landing waiting for a beat up old black car with fading paint and two broken windows hanging open.

Kotetsu stares at her, not the sky, when he pulls up and steps out, lingering by the car door as if afraid he's only allowed to look. In her black jeans and green Bob Marley shirt, she feels too comfortable to let his worry worry her. Crossing the distance between them, she guides his hands up to her breasts as she did the first time they were together, smiling crookedly.

"Bad day?"

He slides his hands off of her breasts and around her shoulders, pulling her up into his arms and squeezing tight, hugging her and breathing deep to smell her. "Nah," he says in her ear, and this close their noses touch. "I just forget how lucky I am sometimes."

**#16 - Weakness**

"What do I do?" he asks a picture of a sunny day on a beach that is only faded memory now. In the picture, he is smiling and carefree, and Tomoe is in his arms, draped over him like a princess, laughing. Back then things were perfect. He doesn't remember the arguments they had that week, or the way that he threw stones into the sea and wept, thinking he could never make it work, thinking he couldn't be good enough for her and hating himself and falling apart. He doesn't remember how he said things to try to hurt her in anger, or how cutting were her replies. It's been too long. There are too many other, worse things since then.

Even if he could call to mind every single moment of regret he wove for himself during that trip, he'd still prefer to be the Kotetsu in the picture to the Kotetsu in a cold, too-big house, alone and frightened and only getting lonelier. There are patches of sunshine in that memory. No matter how hard he looks, it seems there is only rain, today.

"If I lose my power," he admits, caressing the glass where the picture of her face is. "I don't think I can keep my promise."

**#17 - Tears**

Just like then, it's Muramasa who finds Kotetsu first, huddled in his car, staring out the window glassily. He opens the door with a blast of hot air, and gets in, sitting down in the passenger seat and letting one eyebrow rise as he stares at his brother. Kotetsu does not move, does not stir, except to say flatly, "Put on your seatbelt, jackass."

Muramasa is twenty-three, and Kotetsu is only seventeen, so it's funny to hear him trying to be tough, trying to pretend he's totally fine when by now shouldn't he know better? But he pulls out the seatbelt, buckling it dutifully, and crosses his arms over his chest. He doesn't say anything, just waits and glares until Kotetsu slowly turns to face him, his tearstained face wan and tired.

"I hate this power," he says, so softly it's almost lost in the hum of the engine running and the blast of the air conditioning through the vents at their sweaty faces. "I hate being this way."

"I thought you wanted to be a Hero, now." Dismissively, Muramasa begins picking at his fingernails, as if he has decided Kotetsu is not worth his time. His younger brother puffs up angrily, then deflates with a shaky sob, sniffling and turning his face away again. He's fairly good at hiding his tears.

When he speaks again, his voice keeps cracking and he stutters and stammers until he finds his way through the words. "T-Tomoe's father threatened to send her off to their relatives in Surra Mesa if h-he s-s-saw me around her again." He grits his teeth, wiping furiously at his nose. "He said if she's gonna s-spend so much time with a freak then she needs to be protected from herself."

"What makes you think Tomoe gives a damn what her father thinks?" Muramasa asks reasonably, shrugging when Kotetsu stares at him in profound shock. "Did you even ask?"

"W-well...no."

"You know she's eighteen, right? And she has that job writing freelance for those magazines." Tipping his head to the side in thought, Muramasa shifts his weight to sit more comfortably in the seat, legs hanging wide enough to grind his right knee into the door. "She was talking about getting her own apartment soon anyway. She asked if I'd help her move if she does."

Judging from the flabbergasted look on Kotetsu's face, all these very logical facts had never once occurred to him. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, tears forgotten as he stares at his hands, trying to factor in all this very relevant information.

Muramasa helpfully says, "If you want to go over and see the place she was looking at, I can give you directions. It's pretty nice. I think you'll like it."

With a snort of surprise, Kotetsu grins and shifts the car into reverse. "You're gonna make me do all your chores to repay you, aren't you?"

"Yup."

"Ass."

**#18 - Speed**

Just once, he takes her with him, and they zip through the forest with Tomoe clutched close in his arms, faster than most cars, faster than Tomoe's ever gone before. She knows they're not going fast enough to challenge the speed of light but it _feels_ like they are, like time slows down as Kotetsu's feet take him nimbly over the narrow point in a brook with barely a splash, navigating low branches and brambles and prickly bushes with graceful ease. Through the thickest part of the woods he carries her, up a hill and across a plateau and up again until they're at the crest of the Rolling Hill that overlooks town, dandelions swaying in the breeze of their passing, freshly crushed grass all around them, mossy gray boulders peering down in their direction while Kotetsu hefts her high and lets Tomoe see what he sees, every day when he practices for time.

The world falls out below her, almost perfect, Oriental Town a friendly smudge on an otherwise untouched paradise. Exhilarated, she holds her breath, remembering the flash of birds above them as they burst through the forest, even as she sees those same birds miles away and below them, lighting out of the trees in a huge flock of brown and black and white.

Two seconds in, he stumbles, suddenly just a man who is winded from running as hard as he could and can't quite summon the strength to hold her above his head. They tumble in a heap to the grassy ground, and Tomoe smiles up at him through her tangled hair, eyes dancing. "That was incredible!"

Just a little, Kotetsu gets cheeky, puffing up with pride. "I know!"

**#19 - Wind**

It feels like she's flying when she throws her arms out in the middle of a gust of wind. Here by the lake, no troubles can bring her down. Kotetsu doesn't notice her dancing at first, straining and struggling with their flat tire until he has unbolted it and switched it out with the spare. They agreed: this time it's his turn, because last time she had to fix two and that involved walking a mile up the highway to the nearest gas station to then hitch a ride to the nearest tire store for a second spare.

That doesn't mean he doesn't look flustered and oil stained when he finishes, wincing at his fingers and the little blisters he earned, trying to turn the bolts with just his hands.

Seeing his discontent, she bows to him, offering her own hand and saying, "Come on. We're going to dance until you start smiling again." He sullenly refuses at first, until it becomes clear she will not get back into the car as long as the wind is blowing in off the surface of the lake. She tricks him into dancing after her, even if he will not dance with her, leaping along and spinning and whirling and letting her hair fly free in the pleasant breeze until at last, her toes touching the water's edge, he catches her, his frustration forgotten in favor of a weary smile.

"Better," Tomoe says, cupping his cheek with one hand. "I like that much better."

**#20 - Freedom**

After three days as a hostage, all Tomoe wants is a hot shower and an evening spent in the park, eating her favorite foods, listening to her favorite person sing her favorite song just a little off-key.

After three days not knowing if the terrorists had already killed her, all Kotetsu wants is to be near her, to touch her, hold her, know she is real and safe.

**#21 - Life**

He missed it.

He's sad and maybe angry at himself, and he paces around and gesticulates and talks in exaggerated whispers and sometimes, he shoots uneasy glances at Tomoe, as if worried she is secretly awake and listening to his petty harping. But everyone else is exhausted, so Kotetsu sits there by her bedside, discontent and depressed, moping about how terrible everything is and it's not _fair_ and he _missed it_ \--

Until the little bundle in Tomoe's arms stirs and starts to cry, waking her up. He watches in wonder as she sleepily guides that tiny thing to her breast, letting it suckle on her with a tired hum. He watches with his heart aching while tiny fingers curl and uncurl, and when Tomoe sees that he is finally here, she all but purrs, whispering, "Come on, daddy. Meet your baby girl."

Kotetsu doesn't know what to say. He can't find the words. He stammers helplessly, accepting that tiny little bundle of cloth and looks down into a red and grouchy face. "What's his name?"

"I said girl, you." Tomoe answers, sounding a little cross, and smirks to herself. "And it's Kaede. Really should've been here if you wanted 'Minako' so bad."

Inexplicably, that breaks his cloudy gloom. Of course, Tomoe was right all along. 'Kaede' is such a pretty name. Just like this pretty little girl. _Their_ girl. So, caught between crying in wonder and awe and just chuckling stupidly, he shrugs. "Hey, that's life. I'll manage, somehow."

**#22 - Jealousy**

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" he growls, while Tomoe sips her tea and works on her latest article, only looking up when Kotetsu comes up to loom over her desk. He's wearing a hurt expression, but there's some strange anger there, too, slow-burning and new. She's never really seen him like this before.

And she has no idea what he's talking about. "Notice what?"

Instead of answering, he touches a mark just below her chin, a little mouth-shaped bruise that she hadn't even realized was there. Kotetsu's expression darkens to one of hurt that she would lie to him. "Who was it?" he asks, very softly, as if there might be some answers he'd understand, but others that would send him into a rage. "Please, just tell me."

Tomoe blinks, touching the mark without recognizing it, and gets up, going to the mirror to examine it. "Hm," she says at last, when she determines that she can't identify it.

"Hm?" Kotetsu repeats, growing anxious, now. "Why 'hm'? Is it some rich guy who's already bought you a penthouse? Is it someone younger? Older?"

Rolling her eyes, Tomoe returns to her desk. "It's no one, and _you're_ jealous. I probably just bumped into something."

"You're sure about that?" Kotetsu says, tense and mistrusting, and finally Tomoe starts to get upset. This is insulting, and besides, she has a deadline to meet. "You're absolutely positive?"

"Yes, I'm positive, and what the hell is your problem? Do I get jealous when you're being interviewed by supermodels on television? _No._ You don't have to flirt with them, or be flattered by the attention or let them act like you're not wearing a wedding band, but you do, and I don't say a single damned thing." Now that she's angry, there's no backing down. Kotetsu looks torn between trying to get self-righteous and guilt because he knows she's right.

"I just thought-- you've been so distant lately, and--"

Rubbing at the bridge of her nose, Tomoe starts to count to ten. "Yes, because I'm working. It has nothing to do with you. Or did you forget I have a life, too?"

"No," he sighs, shoulders slumping. "No, I don't know. I'm sorry. I just- I panicked. I know I'm never around and there's Kaede to think about, too, and I was afraid I might be losing you."

Tomoe punches him in the arm, snarling at his reflexive whine of 'owww!'

"What was that for?" he protests weakly, rubbing at his arm.

"For worrying over something so stupid!" She grouses, storming over to him and dragging him down into a brutal kiss. "I love you! And I know you love me! Don't worry about something so silly and go say good night to your daughter!"

Kotetsu hesitates, and in that moment of hesitation, she knows why he was worried in the first place, and jealousy flares hot and close in her mouth, twists in her gut and has her scowling before he can meekly tell her 'yes, ma'am'. She fists her hands in the collar of his shirt and looks deep into his eyes until she knows he can't lie to her, not really.

"So who was it?" she asks, in a quiet, calm voice that is a complete deception.

Kotetsu shivers, frightened as a lamb. "A-Antonio. I-it was--!" She shakes him once, hard, and he squeaks. "I-I'm sorry!"

"You're damned right you're sorry," Tomoe grumbles, but the anger is washing away and even though she's annoyed, it doesn't feel quite so weird as she was afraid it would. "Accusing me just because you feel guilty isn't okay, Kotetsu."

"Sorry," he says again, looking miserable.

But the more she thinks about it, the more it makes sense. She can almost pinpoint the exact day it must have happened: two weeks ago, when Rock Bison and Wild Tiger were trapped under the debris of a collapsing subway tunnel for nearly a day, in the middle of a freezing blizzard that made communications impossible. Kotetsu had come out of it with a concussion. She'd chalked up his strange behavior to the head injury, but if something had happened between him and Antonio, then suddenly it all makes sense.

So the only real question Tomoe has is, "Do you still love me?"

Frightened, Kotetsu nods wildly, swearing, "More than anyone!" She lets her grip on his shirt loosen, and captures his lips in another, gentler kiss, this time taking care to shove her tongue into his mouth, claiming him for herself while her hands rove to his back, squeezing his hips at their narrowest point.

She decides that this is not something she should be upset about, because she believes him and furthermore, she knows Antonio and trusts him not to try to drive a wedge between her and her husband. So she lets their lips part, and tells him quietly, "Then we're going to be okay. Don't worry."

**#23 - Hands**

Tomoe has writer's hands, with skin a little too pale because she only freckles, never tans. She likes to keep her fingernails clipped short and clean of nail-polish, but Kotetsu admits to having a bit of a thing for it, so sometimes, when the mood strikes, she paints them red. When she does, her fingers seem longer, thinner, and Kotetsu seems unable to leave her hands alone, kissing them, licking her palms and sucking on her fingers.

**#24 - Taste**

One of the first things that Tomoe ever noticed about Kotetsu was his favorite band, just outside of choir as he was trying to mirror a solo that just wasn't quite in his range, no matter how hard he tried. She taught him how to sing falsetto, and how to breathe properly, and even how to sing the solo he'd been trying to conquer in perfect rhythm with the popular recording.

He asked her, a little surprised and a lot embarrassed, "Um, if you don't mind me saying so, Class Rep, why'd you teach me all that stuff? I mean, thanks, but you didn't have to." As he scratched the back of his neck and averted his eyes awkwardly, trying to hide his bruises and scars from fights outside the school, Tomoe paid most of her attention to his rumpled uniform, his unkempt hair, and his eyes.

"It's because you were singing," she said gruffly, swallowing down some weird feeling that fluttered in her chest whenever she saw his earnesty written in his face. Adjusting her glasses, she nodded to herself. "I like that band too, so I thought 'Ah! Kaburagi T. Kotetsu actually has some decent taste.'"

**#25 - Devotion**

At the darkest time in his life, when he seriously considered giving up, when he felt like no one would notice if he simply died, there was a promise he had made that forced him to stay his own hand. And after that, when his fading powers threatened to make that promise unkeepable, there was a flash of a wedding band on his left hand that said no matter what, he must try, even if he were no more than an ordinary human.

And after that, he understood that she did not want him to die on a whim to meet her: that she would still be there when his time came naturally, and he was hopefully old and forgetful and gray.


End file.
